Things are going to get hairy. They always do in Movember, the charity sprout-a-thon that has somehow made moustaches not only respectable but also aspirational. So if you're thinking about taking part and are looking for a bristling example on which to model yourself, here are some of the most notable 'staches from TV history. Think of it as the Tufty Club.

Zebedee from The Magic Roundabout

Children's TV is a goldmine for soupcatchers, from Dick Dastardly to the Chuckle Brothers. But for sheer size alone, Zebedee's mug shrub – call it "the ringmaster on steroids" – stands out from the crowd. He's also very on-trend for 2013. In fact, with his fixed spring transport, raffish bow tie and elaborately waxed whiskers, Z could claim to be the original hipster.

Tosh Lines from The Bill

Jack Frost. Poirot. Andy Sipowicz. There are plenty of TV tecs and coppers with hot fuzz. But for sheer lived-in plausibility, you'd have to go some to beat veteran flatfoot DC Alfred "Tosh" Lines (played by the late Kevin Lloyd). As a dogged plod willing to put in the hours required to uncover the truth in every case, Tosh's mo helped him uncover countless MOs.

Zeroid 18 from Terrahawks

Do androids dream of electric sheep-shearers? In puppetmaster Gerry Anderson's futuristic fantasy Terrahawks, an army of weaponised robot ping-pong balls help repel the advances of Zelda and her evil alien fleet. Amid an otherwise indistinguishable automaton army, Zeroid 18 somehow speaks with a French accent and has a prominent stick-on 'stache. "Too much garlic in his oil," grumbles Sergeant Major Zero (voiced by real-life brushtafarian Windsor Davies).

Ron Swanson from Parks and Recreation

Perhaps the only US 'stache that could challenge Magnum's supremacy, Swanson's magnificent pushbroom isn't just a visual treat – it's shorthand for Ron's entire red state/red steak worldview. And unlike Pornstache, Nick Offerman's bristles are entirely organic and homegrown. That's why he's routinely called upon to present things such as Great Moments in Moustache History: "Some say it's a symptom of manliness. Others, the cause."

John Watson from Sherlock

We still don't know much about season three of Sherlock, but the teaser trailer does reveal Martin Freeman's Watson has grown a crumb-catcher since the "death" of his deductive pal. Is it a hairy memorial to Holmes, or a hat-tip to bristling Watsons past (such as affable Edward Hardwicke, who rocked a bushy mother in the classic 1980s series opposite Jeremy Brett)? We'll find out in January 2014.

The Joker from Batman

Most of us experienced Adam West's 1960s Batman in the days before HD, so were probably unaware that Cesar Romero – the beloved, hard-partying "Latin from Manhattan" – was so attached to his nose neighbour, he flatly refused to shave it off when playing the Joker. His already unsettling supervillain gains extra gnarliness for upper-lip stubble caked in white powder.

The greatest trick the devil ever pulled was convincing the world his 'stache didn't exist …